thiago araujo

This study investigated anemia prevalence and associated factors using a cross-sectional approach with 429 children 6 to 59 months of age in Jordão, Acre State, Brazil. Multiple Poisson regression in hierarchical models was used in the analysis. Overall anemia prevalence was 57.3% (95%CI: 52.5%-2.1%). Age under 24 months [prevalence ratio - PR (95%CI): 1.40 (1.09-1.74)], living in rural areas [PR: 1.23 (1.04-1.44)], households with 5-14 children [PR: 1.23 (1.04-1.44)], stunting [PR: 1.19 (1.01-1.39)], maternal anemia [PR: 1.18 (1.00-1.39)], and smoking during pregnancy [PR: 1.29 (1.09-1.53)] were associated with increased risk of anemia. Children of working mothers were at lower risk of anemia [PR: 0.78 (0.64-0.94)]. Anemia prevalence in childhood was found to be a serious public health problem in this municipality. Multi-sector prevention strategies should be implemented, addressing poverty and maternal-infant healthcare.

This scientific note examines the ability of the apparency hypothesis to explain the selection of medicinal plants by members of a rural community located in the Caatinga dryland region of Pernambuco state. A total of 61 plants considered to be medicinal were examined phytochemically to test the premises of this hypothesis. It was concluded that apparency does not completely explain our findings.

Although a growing number of investigations have considered the theme of environmental perception, few have focused directly on young people. The present study examines the perceptions of the local landscape held by students in fifth through eighth grades in the municipality of Igarassu in the Atlantic Forest—namely, Pernambuco (northeastern Brazil). To that end, students were asked to write an essay with the prompt, “When someone talks about the forest, I think of….” They were also asked to make a drawing with the prompt, “When I think of the forest I see….” Afterward, a structured interview (projective type) was conducted using six photographs of environments with different degrees of anthropogenic interference. The students were asked to order the photographs according to the degree of preference they felt toward them. In the majority of essays, it was possible to determine esthetic and utilitarian aspects of the forest, descriptions of its biodiversity, as well as the sentiments of the students in relation to the environment and to the necessity of protecting it. The drawings showed a large number of exotic elements, which may have been influenced by the current teaching methods that do not contextualize pedagogical subjects within local reality. In terms of the ordering of the photographs, it was observed that, for the students in fifth and seventh grades, the image of a less urbanized environment stood out as most preferred, while a natural environment was last in the preferences of students. For the students in sixth grade, the image of a natural environment was most preferred, while a less urbanized environment was the least preferred. The students of the eighth grade demonstrated satisfaction with images of an urban environment, while the natural environment represented by an image of the forest occupied last place in their preferences. This type of inquiry may be useful to environmental education programs, as our findings help such programs adapt their efforts specifically to the visions and expectations of their focal groups.

A lipase-producing yeast strain isolated from crude cheese and identified as Trichosporon spp produced 7.3 U/mL (59.3 U/µg) after 72h of cultivation. Lipase showed optimum activity at pH 7.0-8.0 and 45-50ºC. Extraction by the two-phase aqueous system (PEG-phosphate salts) showed an elevated recuperation (99.8%) of enzymatic activity in the PEG phase.